Abstract
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of 3-week high intensity interval training in normobaric hypoxia (IHT) on aerobic capacity in basketball players. Twelve male well trained basketball players, randomly divided into a hypoxia (H) group (n=6; age: 22±1.6 years; VO2max: 52.6±3.9 ml/kg/min; body height – BH: 188.8±6.1 cm; body mass – BM: 83.9±7.2 kg; % of body fat – FAT%: 11.2±3.1%), and a control (C) group (n=6; age: 22±2.4 years; VO2max: 53.0±5.2 ml/kg/min; BH: 194.3 ± 6.6 cm; BM: 99.9±11.1 kg; FAT% 11.0±2.8 %) took part in the study. The training program applied during the study was the same for both groups, but with different environmental conditions during the selected interval training sessions. For 3 weeks, all subjects performed three high intensity interval training sessions per week. During the interval training sessions, the H group trained in a normobaric hypoxic chamber at a simulated altitude of 2500 m, while the group C performed interval training sessions under normoxia conditions also inside the chamber. Each interval running training sessions consisted of four to five 4 min bouts at 90% of VO2max velocity determined in hypoxia (vVO2max-hyp) for the H group and 90% of velocity at VO2max determined in normoxia for the group C. The statistical post-hoc analysis showed that the training in hypoxia caused a significant (p<0.001) increase (10%) in total distance during the ramp test protocol (the speed was increased linearly by 1 km/h per 1min until volitional exhaustion), as well as increased (p<0.01) absolute (4.5%) and relative (6.2%) maximal workload (WRmax). Also, the absolute and relative values of VO2max in this group increased significantly (p<0.001) by 6.5% and 7.8%. Significant, yet minor changes were also observed in the group C, where training in normoxia caused an increase (p<0.05) in relative values of WRmax by 2.8%, as well as an increase (p<0.05) in the absolute (1.3%) and relative (2.1%) values of VO2max. This data suggest that an intermittent hypoxic training protocol with high intensity intervals (4 to 5 × 4 min bouts at 90% of vVO2max-hyp) is an effective training means for improving aerobic capacity at sea level in basketball players.
Highlights
Basketball is an intermittent sport discipline, which is predominantly anaerobic in nature
All subjects were randomly divided into a hypoxia (H) group (n=6; age: 22±1.6 years; VO2max: 52.6±3.9 ml/kg/min; body height – BH: 188.8±6.1 cm; body mass – BM: 83.9±7.2 kg; fat content - FAT%: 11.2±3.1%), which trained in a normobaric hypoxia environment, and a control (C) group, which exercised under normoxic conditions (n=6; age: 22±2.4 years; VO2max: 53.0±5.2 ml/kg/min; BH: 194.3±6.6 cm; BM: 99.9±11.1 kg; FAT%: 11.0±2.8 %)
The most important finding of this study is that a 3 week intermittent hypoxic training” (IHT) program, including three weekly high intensity hypoxic exercise bouts of 4 minutes duration, caused a significantly higher improvement in VO2max as well as, in relative maximal workload (WRmax) than the same training procedure performed under normoxia conditions (VO2max: 7.8% - H group vs. 2.1% - C group; WRmax: 6.2% - H group vs. 2.8% - C group)
Summary
Basketball is an intermittent sport discipline, which is predominantly anaerobic in nature. During a basketball game at the international level of competition, a player covers from 3500 to 6100m, depending on the position and the tactics of the game. High intensity activities usually last from 1 to 4s and occur on the average every 20-25s. These periods are interspersed with activities of low to moderate intensity like jogging, walking, standing, inbound passing or free throw shooting. The intensity of the game changes very rapidly and some authors have shown that players perform over 1000 changes of direction and pace during a game (McInnes et al, 1995). The high intensity activities are powered by the PCr system, which is resynthesized via aerobic metabolism during the short frequent breaks (time outs, out of bounds, free throws etc.).
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